Provide Services - Not Websites
Ask people what they think the Internet is made of and I would bet most of them would answer, “websites”. It’s a natural answer and it shows how most people look at the electronic world. I have a different answer to offer you today.
For me, the Internet is a place where services are performed. Even if what I am looking for is a new shirt, what I am looking for is someone to offer me the convenience of a low price, a selection I can not find locally and delivery to my home. Notice that I am not looking for a product. I am looking for a product plus a price plus a service that will satisfy my needs.
An interesting statistic that came out of AOL’s release of anonymous search data earlier this year was that 47 per cent of the searchers did not click on any of the search results that were offered to them. Almost half the people did not find what they were looking for when they searched the Internet. I argue that the reason is most websites try to sell you a product when you go searching to satisfy a need. The product they want to sell you is what they can make a profit with rather than what will satisfy your needs.
A website that concentrates on the product will continue to lose out in the market place. As we become more comfortable finding what we want on the Internet our standards and expectations are also rising. It is like having a car as a young person. We were ecstatic with a basic model when we didn’t have anything. As we get older we expect more from our vehicles and the companies who sell them to us. The car advertisers sell us on benefits not the products. We are offered excitement, adventure and style; not Fords, Chevys, and Toyotas. These are the products they sell to us to satisfy our needs.
While there is a place for high end services there is also a place for good value services that don’t try to wring every last penny from a transaction. The Internet allows you to show people how your services can satisfy their needs. If you concentrate on how you can make someone’s life better you will be more successful. Let me give you an example.
I recently worked with a company who was trying to reduce their fuel costs by making their fleet routes more efficient. We needed to know where the trucks were going and how much time was spent traveling in congested areas. The quick answer was to use some GPS tracking products that would tell the dispatcher each truck’s location.
When the company went searching for information on how to do this they ran into several companies who sell real-time tracking systems. These can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars plus monthly fees for connections to networks. This was outside their budget and someone referred them to me. I suggested they use some passive GPS devices that would just store the data until it could be manually downloaded at the end of the day or week. Prices for this are much lower and it brings this into the realm of good business research. I concentrated on their needs, not on what I wanted to sell them. This is a good key to website success and one that is often overlooked by website designers. Remember the maxim, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”
Mike Myklin is an author, lecturer, and e-commerce owner who specializes in Internet Marketing. He can be reached through mike@myklin.com and www.myklin.com where you can find archives of these articles.
For me, the Internet is a place where services are performed. Even if what I am looking for is a new shirt, what I am looking for is someone to offer me the convenience of a low price, a selection I can not find locally and delivery to my home. Notice that I am not looking for a product. I am looking for a product plus a price plus a service that will satisfy my needs.
An interesting statistic that came out of AOL’s release of anonymous search data earlier this year was that 47 per cent of the searchers did not click on any of the search results that were offered to them. Almost half the people did not find what they were looking for when they searched the Internet. I argue that the reason is most websites try to sell you a product when you go searching to satisfy a need. The product they want to sell you is what they can make a profit with rather than what will satisfy your needs.
A website that concentrates on the product will continue to lose out in the market place. As we become more comfortable finding what we want on the Internet our standards and expectations are also rising. It is like having a car as a young person. We were ecstatic with a basic model when we didn’t have anything. As we get older we expect more from our vehicles and the companies who sell them to us. The car advertisers sell us on benefits not the products. We are offered excitement, adventure and style; not Fords, Chevys, and Toyotas. These are the products they sell to us to satisfy our needs.
While there is a place for high end services there is also a place for good value services that don’t try to wring every last penny from a transaction. The Internet allows you to show people how your services can satisfy their needs. If you concentrate on how you can make someone’s life better you will be more successful. Let me give you an example.
I recently worked with a company who was trying to reduce their fuel costs by making their fleet routes more efficient. We needed to know where the trucks were going and how much time was spent traveling in congested areas. The quick answer was to use some GPS tracking products that would tell the dispatcher each truck’s location.
When the company went searching for information on how to do this they ran into several companies who sell real-time tracking systems. These can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars plus monthly fees for connections to networks. This was outside their budget and someone referred them to me. I suggested they use some passive GPS devices that would just store the data until it could be manually downloaded at the end of the day or week. Prices for this are much lower and it brings this into the realm of good business research. I concentrated on their needs, not on what I wanted to sell them. This is a good key to website success and one that is often overlooked by website designers. Remember the maxim, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”
Mike Myklin is an author, lecturer, and e-commerce owner who specializes in Internet Marketing. He can be reached through mike@myklin.com and www.myklin.com where you can find archives of these articles.
posted by Mike Myklin at 8:26 PM
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